Subscriber Discussion

What Do You Think Of My 'Snip Loop' Enclosure?

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I have 3 cameras in typical box enclosures overlooking a bluff. Because of the steep drop I need to have them relatively low to keep the angle reasonable enough to make out faces. Also, as a deterrent I am not trying to hide them, but would rather them be visible from outside my property line, roughly 30 feet down the bluff.

After reading some recent discussions about protecting bullet cameras I decided to modify my enclosures to include a visible 'snip' loop as a possible added measure of alert and deterrence.

My reasons were

  1. It's easy.
  2. Why not?

Basically, I took a cable-thru the bracket enclosure and added a hole-thru-the bottom, like so:

The outside end of the snip loop just short-circuits (after disappearing into a beam), the enclosure side is wired to the input i/o contacts. The i/o is configured to trigger when an open is detected. The open triggers the output relay which powers a small 'scraminal' style siren. It also triggers the VMS which sends an email.

Recently when I was out with a teenage nephew, I was pointing out security cameras in public places, as I'm often guilty of doing, when he said 'that one's not real, it's got no cable'. I'm not sure if most actual criminals think this, but some certainly do, and so the thought is, if they want to see a cable, show them one.

And if they believe it's real, hopefully it will be the way they try to disable it. It could save the camera, and scare them off, without the downside of false alarms.

Is this a modification others have made?

Any remarks, including mild riducule welcome!

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MI
Matt Ion
Jun 04, 2015

That is freakin' GENIUS! I especially love that cutting the cable actually DOES SOMETHING, rather than just providing a would-be perp a sense of "false security" (or lack thereof, as the case may be).

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Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Cool. Are you secretly hoping that someone cuts your 'cables' now? :)

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U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Are you secretly hoping that someone cuts your 'cables' now?

Openly hoping. I have 'absentmindedly' left a pair of gardening shears resting on the deck below one of the cameras...

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KL
Keefe Lovgren
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Looks great. The problem I have found with doing stuff like that is you get really excited to catch someone then it never happens (sidenote: we leave copper scraps outside at our office in hopes of catching thieves on our surveillance system, never happens). You could also run a 14 gauge solid and hook it to 110 that would surprise anyone who cuts it.

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MI
Matt Ion
Jun 04, 2015

I'd rather have such a measure in place and have it never touched, than NOT have it and wish I had after something does happen.

Of course, if you go the 110 route, make sure there's another camera watching the area to capture the results - that sort of thing makes for great viral YouTube videos.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

And how it paid off for that Shopkeeper! He couldn't have dreamt of a more just scenario.

P.S. On the voltage zapping route, if I were to have a 110 feed going to the camera for no other reason than to zap people who cut the cable I might run afoul of booby trap laws.

U
Undisclosed #2
Jun 04, 2015

You could also run a 14 gauge solid and hook it to 110 that would surprise anyone who cuts it.

Probably not. I've cut through a couple of "dead" 110V circuits that were actually energized before and all I got out of it was a set of linemans pliers that now act as wire strippers.

Even without insulated handles if you're shorting the hot to ground across the metal of the cutters, very little would trickle down to the person doing the cutting. It might cause a slight tingle at best.

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 04, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I've cut through a couple of "dead" 110V circuits that were actually energized before and all I got out of it was a set of linemans pliers that now act as wire strippers.

If they were insulated then I totally agree, if not, I'm not so sure.

I think you're right about the short, it's highly likely to occur, given that both conductors will be in direct contact with the steel at some overlapping time period.

But what gives me pause is the fact that one conductor will come in contact with the blade before the other one does. If the first one to be contacted is the hot, then until the ground gets contacted, there will be a hazardous potential from the cable thru your arm, down thru your chest and out your feet.

If you cut quickly enough, I'm sure the momentum of your movement will insure it's completion, without the secondary problem of involuntary muscle clenching. Thick, dry boots here are key, but still I'm not a big fan of DIY defibrillators.

Personally, and this may be just me, I would be rather have a hair dryer thrown into my bath tub. ;)

KL
Keefe Lovgren
Jun 05, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Openly hoping. I have 'absentmindedly' left a pair of gardening shears resting on the deck below one of the cameras...

so what your saying is to have the pair of gardening shears without insulated handles... :)

Avatar
John Bazyk
Jun 05, 2015
Command Corporation • IPVMU Certified

This is a great idea.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Jun 05, 2015

Nice! Now you can get a 'destruction of property' charge with your theft charge on the guy!

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